Under the quiet night, the moon and stars are scarce.
From the window of the post house, Xia Shang looked up at the night sky in a daze.
The smell of alcohol filled the room, and the two drowsy girls were tossing and turning on the bed, seemingly sleeping uneasily.
Suddenly, the door opened quietly.
A capable woman disguised as a man stood at the door and whispered: "My lord."
"Come in." Xia Shang responded calmly.
The woman entered the room and frowned when she smelled the smell of alcohol in the room. Then she frowned even more when she saw two drunken women on the bed in the room.
Although she is dressed in men's clothing, this woman's appearance is extremely beautiful and unlike that of a man. Her female body can be seen at a glance, and she is very familiar with it.
This person is none other than one of Xia Shang's most trusted subordinates, Chunjiao, the head of the Chunfang Division.
"How did you come?"
"I got some news. It seems that the Queen has secretly arranged for you to get rid of the chief of the Hanlin Academy."
"You also know this?"
"My lord is not in charge of the work in the capital, so my subordinates must be more cautious. The situation in the capital is very delicate now, and the empress has made big moves, so we naturally need to understand the news coming from the palace."
"Then what is the purpose of your coming?"
"I want to know your next decision. After all, the identity of the chief of the Hanlin Academy is not trivial. This person's life and death will affect the pattern of the capital to a certain extent. In order to make the next steps of the Metropolitan Procuratorate consistent with yourselves, I feel it is necessary to advance
Learn about."
Xia Shang nodded, expressing satisfaction with Chunjiao's gradually calming down. This woman with ordinary intentions finally had the temperament of a leader after going through so many things.
Xia Shang thought for a while and asked, "What do you think?"
Chunjiao frowned: "My subordinates feel that he should not be killed. Yue Yanzhi has become the new leader representing the Jiangnan gentry after Mr. Dongyue. Moreover, the Jiangnan literary style is prevalent and occupies the most important position in the Chinese literary world. If Yue Yanzhi
His death at the hands of the imperial court will definitely lead to a great change in the world. I still remember the incident of Mr. Dongyue. Even if the gaffe subsided, the imperial court also spent a lot of effort to appease the hearts of the nobles. Now the wounds of the nobles have not yet healed.
Healing, if you sprinkle a pinch of salt on it at this time, I'm afraid there will be big trouble
Mo’s Rebellion.”
"Learning from past mistakes, of course I understand. But this matter is not an easy decision. You should know that the Queen has her bargaining chip."
"..." Chunjiao was silent. She knew most of Xia Shang's secrets, and she also knew that this was the most difficult thing for adults. But looking at the root cause, it was also the bitter fruit that Xia Shang had brought upon himself. Wasn't it just a romantic debt?
When she thought of this person, Chunjiao felt a lot of complaints in her heart, but she didn't show any of it on her face.
"Also, I want to know why the queen suddenly wanted to kill Yue Yanzhi, and why Yue Yanzhi suddenly resigned?"
"This is also what puzzles most officials in the capital. Of course, no one knows the queen's decision, but they just wonder why Yue Yanzhi suddenly resigned. Your Excellency may not know that in the past few months, the queen has made great changes to Hanlin
The academy is very caring. After abolishing some officials, all the vacant positions were selected from among the unemployed bachelors in the Hanlin Academy. Most of these bachelors selected and appointed are from the Yue Yan family. Recently, Yue Yanzhi has been in great glory.
, although he has no real power, his disciples are spread all over the capital. No one thought that Yue Yanzhi would resign, saying that he would go back to the countryside and enjoy life."
Xia Shang pondered for a while. Although the news brought by Chunjiao was not specific, some things could be analyzed from these simple words.
The importance of the Hanlin Academy must have been deliberate by the Queen.
The queen is now racing against time to cultivate her own power. A neutral institution like the Hanlin Academy must be within the scope of the queen's wooing. The reason why the bachelors of the Hanlin Academy are promoted, and they are all related to Yue Yanzhi, proves that the relationship between the queen and Yue Yanzhi
There must be some kind of connection, at least it means that before this, Yue Yanzhi had made it clear that he was willing to help the queen.
But the strange thing is that Yue Yanzhi suddenly resigned from office and showed an attitude that he was tired of the struggle in the capital. What happened in this that led to a huge change in Yue Yanzhi's attitude? This is unknown.
The reason why the incident happened is not known, but the result is obvious. The Queen wanted Yue Yan to die, even regardless of all the negative things that happened after that. It can be seen that Yue Yan must have violated some taboo, and the Queen had to kill him.
Seeing Xia Shang thinking silently, Chunjiao asked: "Is it possible that your Excellency is preparing... If Yue Yan's death is in your hands, will you be able to
He has become the public enemy of the gentry and literati, and the impression that the Metropolitan Procuratorate has finally improved may become irreversible. Are you really prepared for this?"
"Do you know why the queen gave me the order to take action?"
"Isn't it because the queen trusts you?"
"This is one aspect. But after all, Yue Yanzhi is just a scholar. If the Queen really wants him dead, I don't necessarily have to let me take action, and it is impossible for Yue Yanzhi to escape from the capital. The reason why she informed me secretly, it seems that the Queen doesn't want to
Let Yue Yanzhi's death be related to the imperial court. You must know that now I am not only the head of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but also the leader of Mingjiao. The Queen wants the world to think that Yue Yanzhi died at the hands of Jianghu people. Yue Yanzhi's death
It has nothing to do with the imperial court or the Metropolitan Procuratorate."
"The queen wants to kill someone with a borrowed knife?"
Xia Shang nodded and continued: "There are many ways to make a person die. The queen doesn't want to do it herself and wants to leave this hot potato to me. And naturally I don't want to do it myself. I have to find a way to let others get rid of Yue Yanzhi.
Lose."
After listening to Xia Shang's words, Chunjiao felt a lot more at ease.
"I heard that Yue Yanzhi and Ke Sanke, the new head of Gujian Sect, are brothers. Ke Sanke was adopted by Yue Yanzhi's family when he was a child. Now Ke Sanke is already the head of the sect and can be regarded as outstanding. We have placed him in the Jianghu
The news came back from the informant, saying that the head of the Ancient Sword Sect personally led his disciples to attend the launch of a new famous sword product at the Mingjian Villa. His subordinates guessed that this incident had some connection with Yue Yanzhi's resignation. Because in addition to
Apart from the Ancient Sword Sect, no other sect in the world would send its leader to come in person."
"Could it be that Yue Yanzhi had long expected that he would be in danger, so he notified Ke Sanke in advance to come and meet him near the capital?"
"It's very possible, but after all, it's just a guess. Moreover, I came here mainly to remind you, because the famous sword new product conference will attract many people from the world. You go out alone without a caregiver.
This is a very dangerous matter. I want to spare a few days and want to stay with you to protect your safety."
Xia Shang shook his head: "Your identity and appearance are no secrets. It's not inappropriate for you to show your face. My current identity is the leader of Mingjiao. If people know that Mingjiao is related to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, my future plans will be affected."